Rainmaker 2011

Good News for all in 2012!

2012-01-20T09:45:00.000-08:00

Article from DM News...presentation is available on Winterberry Group website..

Mobile marketing to 'explode' in 2012
Bruce BiegelMore Mobile Marketing•Survey: Only 4% of consumers prefer mobile apps when shopping

Mobile marketing and mobile-related ad spending will grow significantly this year, predicted Bruce Biegel, managing director of the Winterberry Group, a marketing consulting company, during a presentation to the Direct Marketing Club of New York (DMCNY) on Jan. 12.

“This is the year mobile explodes,” he said, noting that U.S. adults spent 30% more time interacting with their mobile devices at the end of 2011 than they did at the beginning of the year.

U.S. mobile advertising spending increased 41.2% to $1.2 billion in 2011, compared with 2010, according to the Winterberry report. Digital overall increased 19.8% to $34.6 billion in the same time period. Email increased 18.1% to $1.6 billion year-over-year.

Biegel also noted direct mail advertising spending increased 2% year-over-year to $45.8 billion. However, Biegel said that in 2012 “money will continue shifting out of traditional channels and into emerging or evolving channels.”

Biegel said that direct mail is still valuable to marketers even while the volume of first-class mail continues to decline. “Mail's not dead,” he said. “Mail is mature.”

Biegel estimated that in 2012, traditional direct mail will still see a modest increase of 2.5% and predicted increases of 17.4% in digital and 12.5% in email marketing spend.

Total U.S. direct and digital ad spending totaled $215.9 billion in 2011, according to the Winterberry report. Insert media spending increased 12.5% to $0.9 billion in 2011, compared with 2010. Direct-response broadcast spending increased 7.6% to $25.4 billion year-over-year, while direct-response print increased 2% to $15.3 billion and teleservices spending increased 1.5% to $40.1 billion.

Mobile in 2012, he predicted, will increase by a whopping 50.2% to $1.8 billion. Biegel explained mobile marketing has grown in value with the prevalence of smartphones, geolocation and increasingly tech-savvy consumers. He noted that consumer behavior is changing and marketers must adapt.

Tied to this evolution is a need for legacy data management platforms to support vast new streams of information from mobile and digital channels, including consumer behavior data, opt-in information, web analytics, contact and demographics information, transactional and loyalty records and public records, he said.

Much of the deluge of data now available to marketers through various streams is tossed away, as marketers don't know how to use it, and storing the information is difficult, Biegel said.

These evolving marketing operations will significantly alter the advertising ecosystem, resulting in industry consolidation, particularly among agencies. "What's direct, what's digital will start to fade away," Biegel said.

2011-12-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

.Research in Motion’s Earnings Fall 71% Amid Soft Product SalesBy IAN AUSTEN

OTTAWA — Research in Motion said on Thursday that a new line of BlackBerry smartphones that it hoped would turn around its flagging fortunes will not come to market until late next year.

It was the latest, and perhaps most significant, setback in a string of product delays and missteps from the company.

The phones, which the company had been expected to start selling early next year, will replace RIM’s aging operating system with a new one known as BlackBerry 10. The company said the change would give them performance and capabilities more like Apple’s iPhone or phones using the Android operating system from Google. Mike Lazaridis, a co-chief executive of the company, said the delay in the new phones came from the company’s decision to use a more compact and power efficient microprocessor that would not be available from its manufacturer until the middle of 2012.

The phones are widely seen as RIM’s last hope for reversing the drastic decline of the BlackBerry in the United States. BlackBerrys accounted for just 9 percent of the United States’ smartphone market in the third quarter of this year, compared with 24 percent during the same period a year ago, according to market research firm Canalys.

The delay was announced during a conference call for the company’s third quarter results. Research in Motion’s third quarter net income fell 71 percent, hurt by giveaway pricing for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and costs related to a global service interruption in October. The company said Thursday that its net income was $265 million, or 51 cents a share, plunging from $911 million, or $1.74 a share, in the same time period last year. The smartphone maker, which is based in Waterloo, Ontario, also said that its revenue during the quarter was $5.2 billion, a 6 percent drop from the year before.

RIM signaled that the current quarter would bring further financial disappointment. Growing inventories of unsold BlackBerrys at wholesalers and retailers led the company to forecast that it would ship only 11 million to 12 million phones in the current period, compared with 14.1 million phones in the third quarter. The holiday buying season has historically provided an improvement in RIM’s sales.

Last week, RIM was forced to change the name of the new phone’s operating system from BBX after losing an early round of a trademark battle.

Jim Balsillie, the company’s other chief executive, said that until the BlackBerry 10 phones arrive, RIM would start spending heavily on advertising and other promotions in the United States to attract buyers for the BlackBerry 7 phones, which were introduced during the last quarter.

“RIM’s U.S. business is particularly weak,” Mr. Balsillie said during a conference call for analysts. The company reported that the United States accounted for 20 percent of its sales during the third quarter, down from 27 percent in the previous quarter.

Both executives continued to praise the BlackBerry 7 phones, which use an updated version of the company’s aging operating system. At least one analyst on the call openly expressed skepticism about RIM’s ability to increase sales of those phones in the United States with advertising, given their poor sales so far. RIM declined to offer specific sales figures for BlackBerry 7 models.

The continued bad financial news was expected. Early this month, RIM announced that it would not meet its expected targets.

Much of RIM’s problems stem from its efforts to spark lackluster PlayBook sales by selling the units at well below the cost of manufacture. The company has dropped the price of a basic model to $200 from $500, and it took a $485 million write down during the last quarter to account for the shortfall. It said on Thursday it would continue to discount the PlayBook and anticipated a gross profit margin of only 1 percent on the devices in this quarter.

Both chief executives acknowledged growing shareholder anger about the company’s performance and their management, and said they were cutting their salaries to $1 a year.

“Mike and I, as two of RIM’s largest shareholders, understand investor sentiment,” Mr. Balsillie said.

Adnaan Ahmad, an analyst with Berenberg Bank in London, said that the two executives needed to be even more candid about their company’s situation. “Every quarter it gets more painful to hear from these guys,” he said. “They’ve kept their heads in the sand.”

A version of this article appeared in print on December 16, 2011, on page B6 of the New York edition with the headline: Research in Motion’s Earnings Fall 71% Amid Soft Product Sales..Sign In to E-Mail

Print

Reprints

. Get 50% Off The New York Times & Free All Digital Access.

Get Free E-mail Alerts on These Topics

Research In Motion Ltd
Blackberry (Handheld Device)
Company Reports
.Ads by Google what's this?
BlackBerry® Bold™ 9930
Get more of the speed, style and
performance you love. Learn more.
BlackBerry.com

Log In With Facebook
Log in to see what your friends are sharing on nytimes.com. Privacy Policy | What’s This?

What’s Popular Now

Woody Guthrie Gets a Belated Honor in Oklahoma

Helen Frankenthaler, Abstract Painter, Dies at 83
.

Direct Mail & Social Media? New concept

2011-08-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

I bet you did not know that you can create a Social Media campaign using the same demographic and behavorial attributes fron your direct mail campaign.

Now, marketers who build models can use thos same attributes in their display advertising or social media campaigns.

So if you are running direct mail campaigns and would like to supplement it in a true multi-channel sense, there are programs now available using the more than demographics and personal "likes" or "interests" from social media. It's also far more robust than the browser based behavorial data that is commonly used today.

Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about this exciting new concept.

Tom Maddock
tmaddock@datalinedata.com

Deja Vu

2011-06-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

From a Time article found on Google....

It was not that long ago we were discussing "eyeballs" and page views as a way to provide valuations for internet companies like AOL and Pets.com...Doesn't this sound remarkably similar? I felt a certain sense of nostaglia when I read this. It brought back memories of the rise and ultimate implosion of these companies...Here it is..

Is LivingSocial about to follow Groupon's lead, and go public? CNBC certainly thinks so, reporting that the site has met with bankers to discuss the possibility, and suggesting a surprisingly high valuation that may have come from said meetings.

CNBC cites an anonymous source "familiar with the matter" as claiming that the daily deals company, recently privately valued at around $3 billion, could be valued to as much as $15 billion for public offering.

Of course, that's nothing compared with the $25 billion figure that Groupon's early IPO rumors mentioned—Groupon's June 2nd IPO filing included a more conservative $750 million figure, but as the Wall Street Journal commented, that number is more placeholder for the purposes of filing fees than anything else, sadly underscoring LivingSocial's #2 ranking in America just that little bit more.

The company is expected to select underwriting banks by the end of the week, with a view to discuss what Reuters is calling "an initial public offering" of around $1 billion.

What's getting you results?

2011-05-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here's what has been working for me.....

It's time to admit that marketing staffs have been cut significantly over the past few years...Instead of trying to displace current legacy vendors with a better solution , I have seen some decent results by trying to pick us some small database projects for some very large and prestigious clients.

Since most clients simply don't have the bandwidth to take on a significant vendor change, you have to be willing to work on smaller projects and "earn your keep"

When you actually get the SOW for a small project...here's what you should do!

Do fantastic work!

Over-deliver on content and timetables

Follow up diligently

Add ideas for the next step or project.

When decision makers are able to focus on their vendor relationships again, hopefully you will have moved tot he top of the list.

Your Own Personal Sales Brand?

2011-05-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Since most marketing services buyers are now embracing Sales 3.0, the number one priority for sales executives is to make sure you have built your own personal brand. Buyers today are overloaded with smaller staffs and larger responsibilities so the idea of 'Client Facing" needs some adjusting if you want to be successful. If you have used any of the self branding tools that are available than you are already a step ahead of the competition. Some of these Sales 3.0 tools include Linked in, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, and personalized websites that help buyers locate and remember you when they need information to make purchasing decisions.

Today's typical buyer has limited resources and time to see the "client facing sales executives", many who are operating in the old school mode of booking as many meaningless meetings they can. That is not to say we should not be trying to book qualified meetings of course, but let's showcase our personal brands to help us get more qualified meetings. Sales executives need a coordinated place to publish themselves, their information, and their industry knowledge. If buyers cannot identify with you at some Sales 3.0 level, you may lose that opportunity to even explore doing business with them.

In the future, the sales executives who have built a strong personal brand will take more and more business away from those with weak or non-existent personal brands. To succeed in the New Sales Economy it’s essential you learn how to create and promote a powerful personal brand.

What kind of personal brand do you have?

New spin on old channel

2011-05-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

Facebook now can be a vehicle for product sampling. Heres an example of new media breathing life into an old school channel, product sampling.

Christopher Heine | April 29, 2011 |

In case there was any lingering doubt, it should now be abundantly clear that PepsiCo thinks social media is all that and a bag of chips.

The beverages-and-snacks company said this morning that its Frito-Lay brand attracted 1.5 million new Facebook "likes" on April 11 alone. PepsiCo is thanking those people today by letting 24,000 "likers" claim a free bag of chips on a first-come first-served basis on Frito-Lay's Facebook page.

Starting at 3 p.m. ET, a product giveaway tab will appear on the brand's page, where viewers can receive a freebie coupon. Frito-Lay, a brand that's based in Plano, TX, says the chips normally retail for $3.99. Its social media team posted about the giveaway in its Facebook newsfeed today, but at press time hadn't tweeted the offer to its 10,300 Twitter followers.

Yesterday, PepsiCo introduced "social vending machines" that let people buy friends a soda pop and then send it in the form of a mobile voucher. The machines come with a touch keyboard that lets users enter a friend's mobile phone number, name, and personalized message. A built-in camera lets them include a video with the gifting message.

How many machines exist in the pilot and where they are located has not been revealed. PepsiCo launched the initiative with a YouTube video, which can be watched below.

Both the Frito-Lay giveaway and social vending machines highlight the Purchase, NY-based company's continuing commitment to social media. Some have questioned its social fervor in the wake of a Beverage Digest report last month suggesting the company's flagship brand, Pepsi, had fallen to third place behind Coke and Diet Coke. Pepsi - known for its Refresh Everything goodwill campaign and a bevy of social media efforts - had ranked second for decades in that sales category.

B. Bonin Bough, PepsiCo's global director for digital, recently told ClickZ that singling out his company's social media marketing efforts for the fall to third place was wrong-headed.

"The whole point of integrated marketing is that it's never one thing over the other," he said. "The people who are going to see continued success with [social media] are going to believe in integration. It's not about isolation."

Are Your Relevant?

2011-05-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Relevance Imperative: Why and How To Become Relevant
David Daniels | May 9, 2011 | 3 comments

Share Recently I heard one of the funniest and misguided pieces of advice that I have ever heard given, which was that "Relevance Is Overrated." Why did I think this simpleminded advice was so flawed? For years in the countless studies done by multiple firms, consumers are clearly most annoyed when the email they receive is not relevant. Further studies I did last year also show that consumers will reward relevant brands with their spending and with more information about their preferences. Let's take these data points from a survey of 1,001 consumers that my firm ran in November last year.

•72 percent of consumers stated deleted email from a marketer that wasn't relevant to me.
•59 percent of consumers stated deleted email from a marketer because I get too much email from them.
•49 percent of consumers unsubscribed from email that I had opted in to because it wasn't relevant.
Much of this is included in my firm's Social Inbox research, but even from these few data points it is clear that consumers act negatively when marketers do not send targeted relevant messages or even if they do so they send too many messages too frequently. I've suggested in our Connected Marketing Framework that firms must begin to measure the value of their programs by the customer experience. One measure of the customer experience is if the brand is sending targeted relevant messages that are deemed valuable by the end user versus those that send the same message to every subscriber. This brings me to another couple data points from my firm, this time a survey of marketing executives, which found the following:

•In a 2010 survey, when asked what customer data attributes their company used to segment audiences for marketing campaigns within the last six months, just 48 percent of marketing executives stated that they use email click-through behavior. Now we just ran the same survey a year later and found that…wait for it, drum roll…
•In 2011, using the same executive panel and methodology, 42 percent of marketing executives stated that they used email click-through behavior as a segmentation attribute. Yes, it went down.
However, let's suggest that survey data can always have a +/-3 percent difference, so we could suggest that it is flat year over year. That marketer sophistication in driving relevance forward hasn't grown at all. Any way that you look at the data, it suggests that 50 percent of email marketers blast the same message to their audience over and over again without ever targeting those that are engaged versus those that are not engaged. Delivery reputation and the inbox disposition of the marketer's message are increasingly being determined mailing to dormant email accounts. There is no way of understanding who is dormant or not, if you as a marketer aren't actually looking at that data and using it. So if you have bad delivery and low customer engagement and are not practicing relevance-empowering tactics, such as segmentation, targeting, and testing, then you deserve the weak results that you are getting.

So what is relevance anyway? At my firm, we define relevance as "the intersection of content and context that is metered by frequency." In action, that would be the right message at the right time in the right channel. The dictionary defines it as, "bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent."

Clearly audience segmentation is key to not only driving relevance forward, but also the value that the email marketing program delivers to the organization and to the customer. This can be measured in costs, revenue, and profits. A study that I wrote late last year for Acxiom (disclosure: Acxiom is a client of my firm), "The Value of Email Marketing," illustrates this, actually showing the cost to generate a dollar even from the inexpensive email channel is higher for marketers that do not segment or target their subscribers. That is for you, the 50 percent of email marketers that don't practice relevance through segmentation and targeting, your programs are costing you a lot more than you might realize. The following is a graphic from that report, which can be downloaded for free with registration here.

Remember, even though consumers might be interested in what you have to offer, we as individuals are all different. We require different types of methods to be seduced into allowing a brand to remain in our lives, let alone advocate for a brand. This requires relevance-empowering tactics such as segmentation and targeting.

In future articles, I will be discussing the steps to remain relevant, from acquisition tactics to gathering and honoring subscriber preferences to content tactics that will advance your relevance on social networks.

Until then, keep on pursuing relevance!

WIFM ...You better know what this means....

2011-03-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

It is 2011....All indicators are pointing up for Marketing Services sales.

I trust you have a stong value proposition...Congratulations!
and even better, you probably have a USP ...a Unique Selling Proposition...kudos!

And hopefully,you have developed a strong "elevator pitch"....awesome!
Yes...all three of these are good things to have in your sales toolkit....

But if you don't understand "WIFM", you are probably spending times wondering why some of your prospects you have pitched never take any action at all.

WIFM is now know as "What is in it for ME" , meaning the buyer.

Here are some WIFM's

Solve a critical problem
Increase sales
Decrease costs
Develop strategic partership/assets
Increase efficiency
Improve branding/awareness
"Save my Job"

Once you make the connection for the buyer that you can do one or more of these things to help them etc, you are in a far better position to win business!

Great News for 2011!

2011-01-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Article from DM NEWS

Direct, digital 2010 ad spend up 2.7%: Winterberry Group

Digital Marketing Digital Media Direct Classic direct mail Direct Mail & Postal Direct Marketing US direct and digital advertising spending increased 2.7% to $154.4 billion in 2010, according to a report from the Winterberry Group, an advertising and marketing consultancy.

Digital advertising accounted for $27.7 billion of that amount, with digital display advertising spending increasing 10.7% year-over-year. Direct response print advertising spending, which suffered a 3.6% decline in 2010, was the only direct marketing segment to see a decrease in spending.

Bruce Biegel, managing director of the Winterberry Group, told the Direct Marketing Club of New York on January 13 that US direct and digital ad spending will increase by 6.2% in 2011 to $163.9 billion. Direct mail spending will grow 5.8% to $47.8 billion this year, driven by acquisition mail increases.

“The growth is attributable to a return of confidence in the economy,” Biegel told Direct Marketing News in an interview.

He also said the growth represents a “light increase in marketer budgets.”

“If you get a 2% increase in ad spend, you're going to get a significant amount of money going to direct and digital,” he said. “It doesn't take a huge amount of money to make a difference there.”

Biegel also told Direct Marketing News that direct mail “still really works well for acquisition because it's easier to target [than other channels].” He contended digital as an acquisition tool is still finding its way, so despite a “massively overstaffed Post Office” and other issues, direct mail will be an important tool for direct marketers.

Various factors will drive the predicted acquisition mail growth, according to the study. This will include an expected continuation of economic growth; a rebound in the financial services, retail and auto sectors; and no exigent postal mail increase. The report also predicted that increased use of analytics, cross-channel integration and better hygiene will restrain volume and spending growth, and that excess production capacity will keep costs in check.

Biegel also predicted that that marketers will continue to apply traditional direct marketing concepts, such as segmentation, personalization and data collection, to online marketing, and that an improved economy will lead marketers to reinvest in acquisition, tests and new media.

He also said he expects regulators to explore consumer privacy and data tracking, and that real-time media buying and activation of audience data will lead to a growth in online display advertising.

Direct Mail Alive and Well!

2010-11-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

Direct Mail: Counted Out by Cynics, Counted On by Consumers

In the hit film Cast Away, actor Tom Hanks' character Chuck Noland, a FedEx productivity expert, survives a plane crash, only to be marooned on a deserted island. After a harrowing trek back to civilization, he finds that his family has given him up for dead.

During his exile, Noland becomes a survival expert, learns about life and defiantly determines to deliver one last parcel from his downed FedEx plane.

North America's direct mail marketers could hardly be blamed for feeling a bit like Chuck Noland, a quietly heroic figure who was counted out, even by his loved ones, only to survive and ultimately emerge victorious.

Direct mail repeatedly and erroneously has been given up for dead. There was the clutter of junk mail, making direct mail the victim of its own success. Then came the technological wonders of email. Then the sky-is-falling demise of the post office. And the threat du jour — abandonment in favor of the lure and hipness of social media.

To get to the truth of the matter, Epsilon Targeting's ICOM division conducted a survey of 2,569 US households and 2,209 Canadian households, including a cross section of consumers ranging in age from 18 to 55 years old and above. This 2010 study examined preferences in regard to the ever-expanding array of communications channels for the delivery of marketing information, offers and promotions.

A fair characterization of the message that came back from the source that really matters, the consumer, is this: Direct mail most certainly is not dead, rather it is an increasingly viable and effective channel to reach and engage purchasing decision-makers in North American households.

The research results confirm the proliferation of channel choices that characterizes today's marketplace. Consumers are indeed using multiple sources to gather information: from blogs to company websites; from mobile to email; from friends and family to mail. But how this translates into decision-making is a very different story. Savvy marketers know that preference and trust come into play. They know they need to identify the combination or balance of channels that not only aligns with their consumer group's preference, but also capitalizes on the core competency of the channel itself.

Look at social media. Consumers view this is a personal space — a place to keep in touch with family and friends, reconnect with old school chums, or simply share their lives. Can marketers co-exist? The answer is yes but perhaps not right now or perhaps in a very different way than they are used to — they will need to be invited to sit at the table and join the conversation, rather than pull up a chair and take over.

On the other hand, we have channels that have proven themselves both to marketers and consumers alike — mail, newspapers, radio and even television. According to the survey of U.S. and Canadian consumer channel preferences, the strategically correct combination of channels likely includes direct mail and other offline options, despite the misguided notion by some that offline is no longer effective.

But why? In this age of technology, with everyone so connected, would consumers not want to receive information via email versus mail? Mobile versus TV? Social Media versus Radio?

Perhaps that's not the right question — after all, the U.S. and Canadian research doesn't indicate that consumers are against any one channel — instead it points clearly to how they want to be communicated with, including which channel and why. For instance, when we look at the travel category, consumers have indicated strongly they prefer online communications — email and internet.

The truth is there are key factors at play in terms of preference — the most important being trust.

Consumers stated loud and clear that information is more private if sent through the mail versus email or online. In a similar vein, they feel strongly that a lot of online information can't be trusted, and, in fact, consumers in both nations trust information received by mail more than online.

It is for this reason — trust — that mail needs to be in the channel mix, and possibly in the direct center of the mix.

Trust, as it turns out, is not the only reason consumers have a strong preference for mail. Survey takers also indicated they feel valued when they receive mail. And they said mail is more convenient and easy to use.

On the flip side, those with a preference for email seem to group together into two camps. First, there are those interested in helping the environment — this was characterized in the study by statements like "I can save on paper." In the second camp are those who want to choose — their attitudes are characterized by statements such as "I can choose what I receive."

This idea of choice is important when we look at online channels. Many respondents to the study indicated receiving more email as a consequence of signing up for a newsletter or other communication. It seems all the more important to translate the proven techniques of the offline channel to the online in order to build the same trust and reliance with consumers.

This study shows that the voice of the consumer is getting lost in the mix. We, as marketers, must get back to listening and understanding before connecting and engaging. Our point: despite what many are saying, offline channels are still a viable and effective way to reach and engage an audience. Marketers should consider them when planning a marketing strategy. They very well may become the critical component. Assuredly, this should not be at the exclusion of the online channels, including the up-and-coming social media platforms. That would be making the same mistake that many have made by discounting direct mail.

Will it be the same for all brands? Absolutely not. The key is to know the target audience and balance the channels within a marketing mix to ensure inclusion of those channels used, preferred and trusted by customers and prospects.

Number One Challenge in Marketing Services Sales

2010-09-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

I often get asked what is the biggest challenge we face as business development executives for our company/or agency.

Lately I have discovered that most of our prospects can devote very little time to on-boarding a new vendor. Lazy?.... No,they simply do not have the time or the resources to line these thing up. It does not matter how great your services are or what your value proposition is, you will always meet resistance because of the time factor.

Having been on both ends of these transactions, It is a whole lot easier to use the existing vendor because they are already embedded in their purchasing process. So be cognizant of your buyers internal process and see if there is a way to get "entered into their system" early in the cycle and you may be able to avoid these situations.

Happy selling!

DM /Digital Days NY HILTON - Update

2010-06-16T14:54:00.000-07:00

Like most Direct marketing conferences, the best meetings were held in hotel lobby and restaurant areas ....I felt bad for those vendors who plunked down thousands only to see very little in terms of traffic in the exhibit hall. Those days of having your client come to your booth are over, many of the participants never made it upstairs to the exhibit hall.

The audience was mostly old school types sprinkled in with some digital marketers.

As a marketing services vendor you have to really plan to have 6-8 meetings a day....its rare that you can get that many decision makers in one room...

DMA in San Francisco should be a better venue...looking forward to it!

Facebook Stats

2010-05-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

The Latest Facebook statistics are pretty revealing. Once thought of a application for the under 30 generation, the numbers suggest otherwise.

Ages 13-17 : 11.6 million

Ages 33-77 : 10.7 million

But to be fair, the Facebook audience is dominated by 18-30

Ages 18-22 20.9 million

Ages 28-32 13.5 million

The 33-77 age range does represent the audience with the most buying power, I am attending a seminar on Thursday, May 13th which will cover this topic, and how direct marketers can capitalize on this.

Will report in next week.

Cheers!

In Flight Wi - Fi - I tried it...

2010-02-24T05:27:00.000-08:00

On a recent flight from Texas I was offered free access to www.airborn.gogoinflight.com.

If you have taken any flights recently, you may have seen their marketing representatives in lime green shirts working the airline gates offering free access and handing out giveaways. By the way, the representative did a fantastic job of explaining it to me, and how I had a chance to be a "brand ambassador" by giving the service a try and providing feedback etc. Feeling good about my chance to be part of something, I decided to give it a try on my scheduled 3 hour return flight home to NY.

One of the pitfalls of major airport travel on flights longer than three hours is that"lack of connectivity" to your in box. Now, for a relatively small fee, you can be on line for most of your flight and continue working virtually. In only a few seconds, I was sending e-mails, researching my next business trip, and catching up on some business reading through the Internet. And when I landed, I felt very efficient!

I am not what one would call an "early adopter" of technology but this service is a definite winner...you heard it here first!

Data Overload

2010-01-21T12:57:00.001-08:00

In a nation "awash" with data, we often don't have the correct knowledge or it is often too cumbersome to sift through and make any intelligent marketing decisions.

A marketing client of mine showed me a fancy report filled with alot of data elements and statistics that were very impressive. I asked him what were the action steps he was going to take as a result of all of this intelligence. He wasn't really sure because the data was presented in a format that was too confusing. While the report cost a lot of money and certainly had plentiful data,there was no one there to advise them on what steps to take; or how to "connect the dots".

If you need help with your marketing database, make sure you have good information, but be certain to have an action plan on how to move forward with the intelligence gleaned from the analysis. If the information is too detailed or irrelevant, it will be a colossal waste of your company's resources. Dataline, www.dataline data.com can help clients use their own marketing information to make better decisions with their budget dollars. If you need help "connecting the dots" they can be reached at (609) 452 - 6014.

Data Services Selling 3.0

2009-12-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

Many database marketing services companies are still struggling with what their value proposition really is. If you ask a sales person what their Value Proposition is is many will reel off replies that sound like....

We have the largest ....
First company to introduce the ....
Most responsive client service teams
Most Competitive Pricing

Unfortunately, these are actually benefits of the product or service and do very little to resonate in the minds of prospects or clients.

Strong value propositions deliver tangible results like:

Increased revenues
Improved deliverabilty times
Decreased acquisition costs
Improved operational efficiency
Increased market share
Improved customer retention levels

In the New Selling Economy you cannot just preach features and benefits, that is completely "old school" selling . With Sales 3.0 reaching new heights in 2010, the buyer is more virtual, has less time to make decisions, and has a depleted number of resources to help him make purchases. Your information better be on Linked in or Twitter or both or your buyers will not be able to identify or seek you out. Your value proposition better be something easy to understand or you will lose the prospect.

Happy Selling!

Underbanked Data Opportunity

2009-11-13T11:06:00.000-08:00

Most of the 'bad credit or "underbanked" consumers of today keep finding themselves beseiged with the same offers for debit cards, payday loans,and prepaid debit/credit solicitations. The basic pattern seems to be a consumer signs up for an internet offer and somewhere in the registration path appears an opportunity to learn more or apply for one or more of these programs. Ad Serving Networks and CPA E-mail firms, anxious to monetize the data, will sell that lead multiple times to these companies or to call centers even further diluting the value and responsiveness of the lead. Other than these hotline leads, very few direct marketing principles are being used in this process. Dataline Inc. (www.datalinedata.com) can help marketers make sense of how to segment this market. Through the use of strong transactional data and analytics, a customized solution can be developed. If you are marketing these types of programs, it may be time to look at a new way of thinking that will generate outstanding ROI. It is a little more strategic than just dumping leads into a call center, but the results will be far more sustainable for your clients.

Behavior Based Marketing

2009-10-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

I keep hearing and reading that behavior based marketing programs are the best way to optimize direct marketing dollars. Due to the unstable economy of the past 24 months, most consumers are behaving differently, but some marketers are using attitudinal insights from two years ago to drive their marketing programs. Many of these consumers are making less money, have seen their retirement incomes drop, and are uncertain of their own finances. The point is their attitudes have changed drastically and it is important to convey this in our marketing messages.

Today as marketers we should be focusing on how your customers and propsects are behaving, i.e "what products they are buying". Home Depot is runnng commercials about the new generation of do it yourselfers and how Home Depot can help you save money while improving or fixing your home. They are paying close attention to their customers need to reduce spending and seem to have a real value proposition in that they will be a great resource for any home project.

College recruiting has taken on a whole new meaning in 2009. Many parents have been re-thinking, or altering their behavior when considering the costs of college due to the unstable economy. I recently opened a letter from Providence College which spoke about the amounts of money they were setting aside for additional scholarships and financial aid for the class of 2010. Obviously, they are paying attention to their audience's behavior, as private school applications have dropped 20% in some ares of the country.

Direct Marketers should practice what the preach in this area. For example, many database marketers purchases lifestyle and pyschographic data which helps target those consumers interests, but not necessarily their behavior. So, if behavior based marketing is all the rage, why aren't the large database companies concentrating on how people are behaving, i.e, spending their money,as opposed to their indifferent, self reported information. Who would you rather target with a golf vacation offer, someone who has filled out a survey three years ago that indicates he plays golf, or someone who is an avid golfer who purchases golf items and takes a trip every year?

Dataline, http://m.www.datalinedata.com/home/, boasts a 250 million record transactional database that allows marketers to select from purchase amounts, frequency, and recency of each purchase. In todays new economy , this will generate better results than data selected from old survey and lifestyle information. In addition, Dataline can offer in depth analytics services including customized models. For a new point of view on consumer data, try Dataline at 516 330 6410. www.datalinedata.com.

Hire Sales Talent or Industry Knowledge?

2009-08-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

There are some marketing services companies would rather spend money on hiring someone with “specific industry” knowledge than sales ability and attitude. But over and over I see successful companies focus on hiring those that have good sales acumen and have a winning attitude. They stay away from sales rep who may know people in the industry (let’s hire them for their rolodex, etc.). Often these are the same industry experts who are eager to let you know about your company's shortcomings and what your company needs to spend money on so they can have an easier job of selling.

I will submit that hiring someone with a large network may produce short term gains in terms of getting meetings and proposals in the pipeline but my experience is after an initial surge of this activity their pipelines tend to dry up and they move on to the next company. Sound familiar? Also take caution with the rolodex theory these days because many of those decision makers are no longer employed there given the events of the past 12 months in the marketing services industry.

If you are hiring at the sales director or VP level it is definitely a buyers market, but make sure you hire a sales executive with a strong background of business development and stamina over a long period of time. This gives you a much better chance of success. Also be sure to map out a strategy and plan that has 90 day benchmarks out over a 15 month period to indicate to your new hire that this a commitment to succeed and not a quick fix to increase sales. More often than not this will produce beter results in the long run.

College Student On -line Shopping Behaviors in 2009

2009-05-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a great re-print for retail marketers to read when considering the college student audience. The back to school season is almost upon us and a multi-channel marketing campaign which includes e-mail and online advertising should be part of the mix for sucess in 2009

College Students Spending More Time Online Than Before.

The latest installments in the StudentWatch Campus Market Research series provide a look at where students shop, what they buy, how much they spend, and what influences their purchase decisions. More than 3,000 students participated in the three new studies. The College Stores Research and Educational Foundation, the research arm of the National Association of College Stores, sponsored the studies. Volume 8 of the series, which looked exclusively at online shopping behaviors, indicates that time-sensitive consumers will be more inclined than ever to shop online but be brand-savvy when they do. The study found:

• Students reported spending an average of two days more online each month compared to last year-62% said they used online services every day.

• 14% more students said they shop online than did two years ago.

• Nearly 60% of students reported using a search engine to locate stores online. Yahoo, Alta Vista and Excite were among the most frequently mentioned.

• Students said they select one online store over another based on low prices, best selection and personal knowledge of the brand sold. Fast delivery times and previous experience with the online store ranked fourth and fifth.

Let's Maintain Ad Spending in 2009!

2009-01-30T06:58:00.000-08:00

Dow component Procter & Gamble will be maintaining or even increasing the advertising spend for 2009. Obviously they understand there is an opportunity to grow their business in these challenging times.

Their spending will be maintained but they will be able to optimize and increase their media delivery due to less demand in the media marketplace.

The takeaway is that marketers should be encouraging ad spending to keep their market share and to position themselves as the economic climate improves.

As vendors in the marketing serivice area we need to maintain our market presence with fresh advertising and new ideas for our clients. It's'important to challenge ourselves to be more efficient with our business, and translate that thinking to our clients in 2009. Yes, some of this will be painful at times, but it will be necessary for our business to keep moving forward.

Here is the clip to the interview with CFO Jon Moeller

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1017726433

Pay close attention - Some areas of US economy ares doing well!

2008-09-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

Most companies in the marketing services business have experienced some pain this year. Marketing budgets continue to shrink and shift, but we still live and work in an economy with alot of activity, you just have to pay closer attention.

While retailers are complaining that there summer "back to school" sales were weak, I would bet that not one of us sent our kids into their classrooms without the supplies, clothing, and new technology they needed to be successful and "cool". Parents will not succumb to that, as they understand how fast the world moves and will do just about anything to make sure their kids aren't left behind. Retailers have to spend to drive store traffic, so they are rarely cutting advertising budgets.

Education is simply one of those industries that is just about "recession proof." There are two components in education marketing; the first is the actual "school" that engages in direct marketing to recruit students, and the second is the consumer products and services that go along with this process. Schools with less than stellar academic reputations must compete fiercely for tuition dollars against the more prestigious institutions and many are turning to direct marketing to accomplish this. Also, there are alot of public universities with strong summer and distance learning programs, and many now use direct mail as a recruiting channel.

Due to rising private school costs public universities are now becoming much harder to get accepted and in many cases, are more competitive than private institutions. Now,the prospective "state college" student must spend more dollars on SAT test prep, college coaching, and anything else that can help their chances of locking in an affordable education. I don't think any of these companies are cutting their marketing budgets anytime soon.

Insurance is another business that really does not track the economy. Have you ever heard of a 17 year old nor getting their drivers license because of a recession? They need gas money to drive to school, work, and their SAT test preparation classes dont they? Everyone needs auto insurance, in good times and bad....

I remember laughing back in the 1990s when reading that cell phone companies thought every person should have their own cell, now called a wireless device, and these would eventually replace the land line phones in every one's homes. With an 85% penetration rate in the US adult market, we may not be that far off of that bold prediction. The next step for these wireless companies is to simply "get younger" According to a Nielsen report the demographic now known as "tweens" are using mobile phones between the ages of 8-12. The wireless companies will keep pursuing this audience and their parents to try and capture a share of this market.

The message here is that alot of companies probably will not cut their customer acquisition budgets anytime soon, which is a good thing if you sell marketing services to these businesses. Run through your prospecting lists and see if you can come up with a few in each of these categories, you may be happy you tried.

"Linked In"

2007-12-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

If you sell for a living I suggest you try to maximize the benefits of Linked In.
Most of us have signed up already but have spent very little time with it.
I see profiles of some very influential people out there with hardly any connections or recomendations.

Do yourself a favor, spend an hour or so with it and completely fill out your profile.

I promise you good things will happen. Clients will locate you. Business associates will seek you out. Your sales will increase.

Don't wait any longer

Shorter business cycles!

2007-12-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Nothing is more frustrating than reading through an e-mail and getting excited about contacting that person by phone, only to find that the e-mail does not contain any contact information except for the e-mail address.

There is simply no reason for that to happen.

So in 2010, let's all speed up business by doing the following:

When you send an e-mail make sure you automatically are sending your contact information.....Here is what you need to enclose:

Name and Title
Mailing Address
Direct dial number
Wireless number
Instant Messenger screen name

Here's to shorter sales cycles!